The front lobby was, at the moment, a hub of activity. Katherine was on the fiberglass stepladder, held stationary by Yana, who was offering unhelpful commentary from below. Katherine was draping pastel-colored garland from the ceiling fixtures in preparation for what she'd termed as: "non-denominational spring celebrations." There were yellow chicks and white bunnies festooning the community bulletin board, staples gleefully applied into the foreheads of these unfortunate decorations by Yana.
"It looks like a Kindergarten classroom in here," Emma was scolding. "Who approved this?"
"Fun committee!" Katherine called. "It was a unilateral decision."
Anna-Marie was behind the front desk, having taken over the shift while Lucas managed the improvements to security in the side alleyway. Not on the approved list of security augmentations was Logan, who could be found loitering in one of the cozy new club chairs arranged in the lobby. His face was usually hidden behind an open newspaper, and he would periodically emerge to give new arrivals the hairy eyeball.
"What's the plan here," Jubilee asked from an adjacent armchair. Shogo was playing with scraps of colorful paper left over from the spring decorations, shredding them into tiny pink, blue, and yellow fragments onto the area rug. "You gonna just sniff every new arrival to make sure they're legit?"
"As long as that nutjob Milbury is still out there," Logan said, lowering his newspaper a fraction to glower at the front door.
"I feel like we could use telepaths for this," Jubilee said and nodded at Emma. "It might be, y'know, less weird?"
"Or at least more covert," Anna-Marie suggested.
Remy breezed through the front door just then, bringing with him a breath of spring air…and something else that had Logan gasping.
"What d'ya think of my new cologne, bougre?" Remy asked cheerfully.
"Did you have to bathe in it?" Logan snarled and rubbed his nose on the sleeve of his jacket.
"Y'see, I've already discovered a fatal flaw in your security protocols," Remy said reasonably. He moved to the front desk and deposited a coffee carrier onto the counter. "'Allo, cher. Can't say I miss seein' Bishop's mean mug behind this here desk. You're certainly a lot more welcoming."
"I'm only here until he's finished the install of the new equipment downstairs," Anna-Marie told him and reached for one of the cups. Remy clasped her hand over the lid to prevent her from taking the cup. "Now!" she scolded and gave him an outraged look.
"Laundry, pizza, beer, now coffee…cher, you are in deep, deep debt to me, and I intend to collect," he said, grinning. "With interest."
"Excuse me, mistah, some of us are workin' here," Anna-Marie informed him and tugged her hand free to slap the back of his.
He leaned towards her and said in a low voice: "And when do you…get off?"
"Don't you got work of your own to get to?" she asked.
Remy's eyes raised to the ceiling as he pretended to consider. "Nothin' pressing I can think of."
"It occurs t'me if you'da finished cleaning out 9G, you could have figured out who Erik was on your own and avoided a whole lot of drama," she smirked at him knowingly.
"Ooh, 'Erik,' is it?" Remy answered mockingly. "La di dah. Almost sounds as if you're comin' to the man's defense."
"Well, it don't forgive that he strong-armed ya, sugah. But…I kinda like a man who takes charge of a situation, y'know?" she teased and batted her eyelashes at him. "Desperate measures and all. Not to mention, he's kinda handsome."
Remy's expression became surly. "Think you're barkin' up the wrong tree, there. He's what my real Aunt Marjorie would call a 'confirmed bachelor.'"
"Remy, I'm sure that's some kinda not-politically-correct talk," Anna-Marie informed him sagely.
Scott interrupted what was sure to become a spirited back-and-forth by entering the lobby from his office. Remy made no attempt to straighten from where he practically lounged across the top of the front desk.
"Remy, I've been looking for you," Scott told him.
"You can't fire me, I quit," Remy said and took a long pull from his coffee cup.
Scott was unflustered, apparently having come to the conclusion that ignoring Remy's behavior was best for his own sanity. "I'm not firing you," he responded calmly. "In fact, you're getting a promotion."
Remy's expression brightened. "Do I get a corner office and my own secretary?" He gave Anna-Marie a lascivious once-over. "I love those little tight pencil skirts." Anna crossed her arms and gave him a look that told him he was playing with fire.
Scott adjusted his lenses. "Doctor Xavier suggested you help in building the new training facility."
Immediately disappointed, Remy asked: "In the basement? With Bishop? …So, let me get this straight, for doing a good job I get to do more work in return?"
"I wouldn't consider what you've done particularly good. But yes, that's generally how promotion works. Greater responsibility."
Remy waved his hand dismissively and returned his attention to his coffee. "Forget that, I'm unionizing."
Anna informed Scott: "Don't listen t'him, he'll agree. Just argue with him a bit more, or convince him it's his idea in the first place. He won't get there on his own." She paused to consider Remy for a moment. "In this particular case, guilt is a good motivator."
"Hey!" Remy objected.
"I'm sure Doctor Xavier will understand your refusal," Scott told Remy as he pursued the contents of his clipboard. He offered a small sigh. "Though it will be met with disappointment. He was hoping to find someone he could trust."
"Oh, shut up, Scott!" Remy announced. "Fine. I'll do it. But I want a raise."
Scott smiled a bit. "That worked well," Scott told Anna.
Anna-Marie buffed her nails on her shirt. "Well, I've learned techniques from the master."
Scott continued: "That reminds me—Remy, the master key is missing. I think one of our uninvited guests must have stolen it."
Remy nodded agreeably. "Yeah, that's probably exactly what happened."
"So I'm going to need you to change all the locks," Scott said and just then, Emma chose to clear her throat in a meaningful way. "Starting with Ms. Frost."
"Oh, balls," Remy muttered and Emma gave him an evil look.
Scott turned back to his office, still consulting the paperwork on his clipboard. "I'll need to follow-up on the progress in 9F's bathroom, then we need to discuss next steps in repairs to the walls in 1C…" Scott continued speaking as he walked. "Water hookups for the laundry…elevator repair on Xavier's…"
"Now, wait just a goldurn minute—," Remy protested, having to jog after Scott to keep up.
Anna-Marie smiled as she watched the pair disappear down the hallway, Scott going over progress and Remy complaining. She plucked her coffee cup from the carrier and sat back in the desk chair with a happy sigh. She'd just taken a life-giving sip when the sunlight caught the opening and closing of the lobby door. Logan once again lowered his newspaper.
"Welcome to The Graymalkin," Anna-Marie began, greeting the newcomer silhouetted against the morning sunlight. Anna felt her expression freeze on her face as the figure approached. The light from the lobby doors made a halo on her golden hair. She was dressed in standard civic dress, but there was something about her stance that conveyed regimen and authority.
"Anna-Marie Adler," said Carol Danvers.
Anna-Marie's mouth opened and closed. Her heart thundered in her chest.
Carol raised a hand in a calming manner. "We've been looking for you," Carol said. "When your name came up on an international courier's list, I could hardly believe it. But here you are."
The other Graymalkin residents were tense, eyeing the new arrival with caution.
"Everything okay here, Anna?" Logan asked, setting his paper aside and slowly rising to his feet.
"I don't…know," Anna-Marie answered cautiously, eyes focused on Captain Danvers.
Carol gave her a grim smile. "I think we might have had a misunderstanding," she began.
Taken aback, Anna-Marie slowly sank into her chair. "If you're lookin' for Raven Adler, I don't know where she is," she said numbly.
Carol shook her head slightly. "She is a concern, but for now, not a priority. Anna-Marie, I've been charged with leading an elite group of—of talented people. Independently funded. Community focused. We want to use our—abilities, for lack of a better word, towards helping others. I came here hoping to find you, thinking you might be interested."
"Me?" Anna-Marie asked. "But, what makes you think I'm someone you'd want? I'm not…." Anna drifted off, not sure entirely what kind of excuses she was making.
"Let's talk, like we agreed," Carol told her in a reassuring and confident tone. "About your future."
Anna was shaking her head, undecided. "I'm not sure. Everything has changed so fast. I have a home here now," Anna-Marie began and looked around at The Graymalkin lobby and its inhabitants. It had only just felt less like a safe-house and more like a home.
Carol nodded. "Sure, I understand. But I hope you'll consider what we have to offer. We're based here in New York." Carol walked forward and placed a business card onto the desk. Anna-Marie pulled it towards herself. A golden 'A' was embossed on the card stock above Carol Danvers' name. What it stood for, Anna couldn't say. She looked up to meet Carol's gaze. The woman winked. With a smile she said: "It probably wouldn't hurt to tell you that we have our own jet."
The End
This originally started off entirely as a suspense novel, told from Rogue's POV and titled 'The Super.' She was supposed to figure it out on her own, but I got bored of that. There was no kissing, for one.
I read a lot of suspense and a lot of romance. I was inspired by a book titled The Maidens, which was SO TERRIBLE I thought if that book could get published, I could write an equally terrible suspense book of my own.
I also drew inspiration from a series of children's books about a girl named Clementine, who's father is the apartment building's superintendent. While I was writing this, I started watching Only Murders In The Building, and OMG, I love it. The Graymalkin is not nearly as fancy as The Arconia, but you could picture it as a smaller, shabbier version.
And of course, this was written for 2022's Gambit/Rogue week, using Coffee Shop and Amnesia/Injury prompts.